Racial Justice

Extend constitutionally guaranteed rights to those who have historically been denied them

The ACLU fights discriminatory practices, challenging racial profiling, fighting for affirmative action policies, and advocating for the rights of exploited immigrant workers, among many more other initiatives.

Racial bias and inequalities are obstacles to a just society

The authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which all people would be free and equal.

They then, and we now, remain flawed, but still aspire to that broad, not yet achieved goal.

Though generations of civil rights activism have led to important gains in legal, political, social, employment, educational, and other spheres, the forced removal of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of those of African descent marked the beginnings of a system of racial injustice from which our country has yet to break free.

From our public schools where students of color are too often confined to racially isolated, underfunded, and inferior programs to our criminal justice system that disproportionately targets and incarcerates people of color and criminalizes poverty, to the starkly segregated world of housing, the dream of equality remains elusive.

Through the courts, legislatures, and community activism, we strive to educate and empower the public on issues of race as it relates to criminal justice, economic justice, and inequality in education, and on affirmative action.

Police departments in California are some of the deadliest in the country. Police in Kern County, for example, have killed more people per capita than in any other county in the U.S. But many of these deaths could have... Read More

Although California is often thought of as a beacon of progressive values, the Golden State is actually one of the most secretive states when it comes to information about police use of force and serious and confirmed... Read More

Every year, billions of dollars’ worth of funding and military equipment flows from the federal government to state and local police departments. Local police have effectively been stockpiling wartime arsenals, with... Read More

By Novella Coleman As stories of state violence against Black men and boys occupy many of the calls for police reform, countless stories of Black women and girls subjected to excessive force and police misconduct... Read More